Wimbledon ATP Preview: No. 2 Seed Djokovic Man To Beat

The Dominic Thiem-Stefanos Tsitsipas could be among the most anticipated of the first-round matches. The Taylor Fritz-Yannick Hanfmann opening round match is worth watching as well.

The closest thing to pick’ems in the first round is the showdown between Maximillan Marterer and Borna Gojo as well as the Jordan Thompson-Brandon Nakashima and Lloyd Harris-Gregoire Barrere matchups.

When looking at the tennis picks, Djokovic (-175) is the favorite in the Wimbledon outrights. Alcaraz comes in at +350 followed by Jannik Sinner at +1600.

The tournament starts on Monday with Carlos Alcaraz the top seed and Djokovic seeded second.

First Quarter: Alcaraz Tough To Beat

Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed the No. 1 ranking shortly and heads into Wimbledon as the No. 1 seed.

An interesting matchup in the fourth round could be against No. 19 seed Alexander Zverev.

Zverev has won three of the five previous meetings, although two of those wins did come back in 2021. They met in the fourth round in Madrid in May with Alcaraz winning 6-1, 6-2.

Before Alcaraz could meet up with Zverev, he may have to deal with Nicolas Jarry. Jarry took the first set for Alcaraz when they met in Rio de Janeiro in February.

Another seeded player potentially in the way for Alcaraz is Alex de Minaur. All five sets between them have either finished 6-4 or gone to tiebreakers.

Zverev has won six of the seven meetings versus de Minaur.

In the other half of that quarter, Holger Rune and American Frances Tiafoe are the highest-seeded players.

Rune and Tiafoe haven’t met on the ATP tour and have each won at least 73% of their matches this year.

Tiafoe could run into Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. They haven’t met since Tiafoe’s four-set win in the Round of 16 at the 2019 Australian Open.

Quarterfinal Prediction: Alcaraz vs Tiafoe

Second Quarter: Norrie Eager for Another Run at Wimbledon

Great Britain’s Cam Norrie did not get the easiest of roads in his quest to make a deep run at Wimbledon after reaching the semifinals in 2022.

Before thinking about a showdown with Tsitsipas, he might have to deal with American Christopher Eubanks and Sebastian Korda.

Eubanks made his way to the finals at the Mallorca Open while Korda is 3-1 against Norrie. That includes a straight-set win at the 2022 Australian Open and the same result at the Cinch Championships last month.

Tsitsipas will have to get by 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the first round. Fan favorite and two-time Wimbledon champion Murray could be waiting in the second round. Tsitsipas outlasted Murray at the 2021 US Open. However, in the rematch in the 2022 Stuttgart event, Murray came away with the 7-6, 6-3 win in the quarterfinals.

If Tsitsipas gets through those two matches, it might be clear sailing into the quarterfinals. No. 32 seed Ben Shelton is a possible Round of 32 foe. However, the American has a losing record in 2023.

It is hard imagining No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev having too much trouble against Tommy Paul, Francisco Cerundolo, Tallon Griekspoor or any of the unseeded players in his path. It should be noted that Cerundolo and Paul have played well to reach the Eastbourne final.

Quarterfinal Prediction: Medvedev vs Norrie

Third Quarter: Sinner-Fritz Could Meet in Round of 16

If their matchup in the Indian Wells quarterfinals is any indication, a Round of 16 showdown between No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner and No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz might take a while as Sinner came away with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win.

Sinner has held up well against the potential opponents early in the draw. Facing a ranked Great Britain player at Wimbledon is never easy, but No. 27 seed Daniel Evans has lost twice as many matches as he has won in 2023.

Fritz opens up with Yannick Hanfmann, a player who upset Tsitsipas and then sent veteran Spaniard Feliciano Lopez into retirement at the Mallorca Open.

No. 4 seed Casper Ruud seems to have a manageable path to the quarterfinals with No. 20 seed Roberto Bautista Agut and No. 26 Denis Shapovalov possible challengers and veteran Richard Gasquet a dangerous floater.

It is hard to know what will happen if the seeds hold up and he meets up with No. 13 Borna Coric. They haven’t met since 2019 when Coric won in three sets.

Quarterfinal Prediction: Sinner vs Ruud

Fourth Quarter: Will Anybody Stop Djokovic?

Plenty of eyes will be on Djokovic as he looks to tie Roger Federer’s mark with his eighth Wimbledon title.

A seventh serving of grass for @DjokerNole… pic.twitter.com/TjCsknWINq

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2023

A match in the third round against Stan Wawrinka could be fun as Wawrinka has knocked Djokovic out of four Grand Slam events. However, those wins came from 2014-2019.

Djokovic is 5-0 against No. 17 seed Hubert Hurkacz and topped Tomas Martin Echeverry in straight sets earlier this year in Rome.

A potential Round of 16 meeting with No. 14 seed Lorenzo Musetti would be the first since the Italian upset Djokovic in Monte Carlo.

Two of the most intriguing players in the final quarter are French teen Luca Van Assche and 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios is dealing with a knee injury and he is an unpredictable player in many ways when he is healthy. . He draws David Goffin in the first round and they haven’t met since 2017.

There would be plenty of eyes on a potential third round match between Van Assche and No. 7 seed Andrey Rublev.

If Kyrgios and Rublev square off, keep in mind that Kyrgios won the most recent meeting at the 2022 Miami Open 6-3, 6-0.

Don’t forget about No. 11 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime as he is 2-0 against Kyrgios and has had some tough battles with Rublev.

Quarterfinal Prediction: Kyrgios vs Djokovic

Way Too Early Predictions for Semifinals, Final

• Top Half Semifinal Prediction: Alcaraz vs Medvedev
• Bottom Half Semifinal Prediction: Sinner vs Djokovic
• Final: Alcaraz vs Djokovic